Calvinism's First Battleground Studies in Early Modern Religious Reforms
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CALVINISM'S FIRST BATTLEGROUND STUDIES IN EARLY MODERN RELIGIOUS REFORMS VOLUME 4 Editor Irena Backus, University of Geneva Board of Consulting Editors Michael J.B. Allen, University of California, Los Angeles Guy Bedouelle, Université de Fribourg Emidio Campi, University of Zürich Bernard Cottret, Université de Paris-Versailles Denis Crouzet, Université de Paris IV-Sorbonne Luc Deitz, Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg Paul Grendler (Emeritus), University of Toronto Ralph Keen, University of Iowa Heiko Oberman, University of Arizona, Tucson Maria-Cristina Pitassi, University of Geneva Herman Selderhuis, Theological University Apeldoorn David Steinmetz, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Christoph Strohm, Ruhr-Universität Bochum Mark Vessey, University of British Columbia Lee Palmer Wandel, University of Wisconsin-Madison David Wright, University of Edinburgh CALVINISM'S FIRST BATTLEGROUND Conflict and Reform in the Pays de Vaud, 1528-1559 by MICHAEL W . BRUENING Concordia University, Irvine, CA, U.S.A. A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN-10 1-4020-4193-4 (HB) ISBN-13 978-1-4020-4193-8 (HB) ISBN-10 1-4020-4194-2 (e-book) ISBN-13 978-1-4020-4194-5 (e-book) Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. www.springeronline.com Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved © 2005 Springer No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. Printed and bound in the Netherlands. Dedication This book is dedicated to Jeanine Contents Abbreviations ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 Politics and Diplomacy in Vaud 17 Zwinglianism and Lutheranism in Bern 61 The Clash of the Old and New Faiths 93 From Sacramentarians to Calvinists 133 From Political Calvinism to the Reformation of the Refugees 167 From the Pays de Vaud to France 211 Conclusion 257 Appendix: Timeline of Major Events 265 viii Contents References 267 Index 279 Abbreviations ACV Archives cantonales vaudoises AVL Archives de la ville de Lausanne BDS Bucer, Martin. Bucers deutsche Schriften BHV Bibliothèque historique vaudoise BNF Bibliothèque nationale de France Calvin-Studienausgabe Calvin, John. Calvin-Studienausgabe Chroniqueur Vulliemin, Louis. Le Chroniqueur CO Calvin, John. Ioannis Calvini Opera quae supersunt omnia Correspondance de Bèze Bèze, Théodore de. Correspondance de Théodore de Bèze EA Segesser, Anton. Die Eidgenössischen Abschiede Guillaume Farel Comité Farel, Guillaume Farel 1489-1565 HBBW Bullinger, Heinrich. Heinrich Bullinger Briefwechsel Herminjard Herminjard, A.-L. Correspondance des Réformateurs HS Helvetia Sacra MDR Mémoires et documents publiés par la société d’histoire de la Suisse romande MHR Musée historique de la Réformation OS Calvin, John. Ioannis Calvini Opera Selecta PL Migne, J.-P. Patrologia Latina Pierrefleur Pierrefleur, [Guillaume de]. Mémoires de Pierrefleur RCP Registres de la compagnie des pasteurs de Genève RHV Revue historique vaudoise Ruchat Ruchat, Abraham. Histoire de la Réformation de la Suisse. 1728 edition STAB Staatsarchive des Kantons Bern THR Travaux d’Humanisme et Renaissance Vuilleumier Vuilleumier, Henri. Histoire de l’Eglise Réformée du Pays de Vaud sous le régime Bernois, vol. 1: L’Age de la Réforme WA Br Luther, Martin. D. Martin Luthers Werke: Briefwechsel Z Zwingli, Ulrich. Huldreich Zwinglis sämtliche Werke ZSKG Zeitschrift für schweizerische Kirchengeschichte Preface Before his untimely death in April 2001, my Doktorvater Heiko A. Oberman was a strong advocate for an approach to history that he labelled “the social history of ideas.” It is a method that seeks to explain the dynamic interaction between society and ideas, for the fundamental principle behind it is that intellectual currents both affect and are affected by social trends, institutions, and identities. The social history of ideas seeks to steer between the socio-economic determinism of Marxist scholarship and the elitism of traditional intellectual history that charted the course of ideas from the mind of one “great man” to the next.1 I now realize the significant impact that Oberman’s training has had on my own work. I am indeed exploring the social history of an intellectual system, Calvinism, by analyzing how the political and social history of the Reformation in the Pays de Vaud affected Calvinist doctrine, particularly teachings on ecclesiastical discipline. It is an effort to ground Calvinism more firmly in its historical context; indeed, my fundamental premise is that one cannot fully understand early Calvinism apart from its specific historical context as it developed in Geneva and neighboring Vaud. Early in my graduate studies, Oberman asked me to help him edit one of his influential articles: “Calvin and Farel, the Dynamics of Legitimation.”2 In a way, I have been in dialogue with that article ever since. Many of the major themes in this book are the same as those in Oberman’s article: the 1 See, e.g., Heiko A. Oberman, The Impact of the Reformation (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1994), viii-xi. 2 Heiko A. Oberman, “Calvin and Farel, The Dynamics of Legitimation,” Journal of Early Modern History 2 (1998): 32-60 xii Preface triumvirate of Calvin, Farel, and Viret, the legitimation of the Reformed movement, and the transformation of Calvin from a city reformer to an international figure. Tragically, Oberman died before I developed my own ideas on these subjects and could discuss them with him. Although I criticize a number of his positions in this book, I am fully cognizant of the fact that he helped prepare me to do so. Oberman always saw his role of Doktorvater (never just “advisor”) as one in which he would provide his students with the training that would allow them to find their own voice in the world of scholarship. I can think of no better way to honor his memory than by what I have tried to do in this book: to develop further his important insights and to critique his views where I believe he was mistaken. Before beginning, some notes on terms and usage are in order. Most of this book will focus on the French-speaking lands conquered by Bern in 1536, which today comprise parts of Canton Vaud in Switzerland and the French départements of Haute-Savoie and Ain in France. In order to avoid anachronistic terminology, I will use primarily the contemporary sixteenth- century terms for these areas, referring specifically to the Pays de Vaud or simply Vaud, the Pays de Gex, and the Chablais. When referring to Bern’s French-speaking lands in general, I again use the contemporary phrases, pays romands, welsche Länder, or the English equivalent, Bern’s French- speaking lands. I make one exception to the rule on anachronism to avoid needless wordiness; when referring to all the areas which today comprise French-speaking Switzerland,including Vaud, as well as Geneva, Neuchâtel, and their environs, I use either French-speaking Switzerland or the Suisse romande. The reader should be aware that neither Geneva nor Neuchâtel were part of the Swiss Confederation at the time, but these areas were tied closely together through language, religion, and alliances with Bern. With regard to city names, I use standard English equivalents when they exist (e.g., Geneva rather than Genève or Genf). For other Swiss cities, I use the spelling of the city’s dominant language: hence, Fribourg rather than Freiburg, Bern instead of Berne, Basel rather than Bâle or Basle, etc. I follow basically the same rules for personal names: e.g., John instead of Jean Calvin, but Pierre rather than Peter Viret, Guillaume not William Farel, Nägeli rather than Naegueli, etc. One exception is that my use of the French Henri, rather than Henry when referring to the king, is intended to eliminate any confusion with the many other European monarchs of the same name. When in doubt about a name, I have used the spelling in the online Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse.3 Note that the permeability of 3 “Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse/Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz/Dizionario Storico della Svizzera,” online at http://www.lexhist.ch/. Preface xiii the linguistic border in the Swiss Confederation often created mixed French-German family names; “de Diesbach,” for example, is correct. Finally, some preliminary explanation is necessary for more conceptual terminology. I use both the adjective and noun Protestant in the broadest possible sense to refer to people, regions, and churches that officially severed ties to Rome and abolished the Catholic Mass in the sixteenth century. I try to avoid using the vague phrase Protestant theology, preferring to specify theological systems through reference to their founders. The term Lutheran can be tricky; first, it should be remembered that Catholics referred to all “heretics” as Lutherans. Second, Lutheranism itself was not yet firmly defined during most of the time period under consideration; hence, although Bucer and the Lutherans in Bern may not have fit more precise later definitions, they fell into the Lutheran camp at the time. Finally, by ecclesiastical discipline I mean the attempt to enforce doctrinal conformity and moral behavior by an ecclesiastical body, usually the consistory. Michael W. Bruening Irvine, 21 April 2005 Acknowledgments I owe a debt of gratitude to the many people who have had a hand in making this book possible. First, I want to thank the people at Springer for the opportunity to publish my work. Irena Backus kindly encouraged me at a number of points during the course of my graduate work, and I am grateful for the chance to publish in her series, “Studies in Early Modern Religious Reforms.” Also, my thanks to the editors and staff at Springer, particularly Floor Oosting and Ingrid van Laarhoven, who have been most helpful at all stages in preparing the book manuscript.